I Wish, I May
by RancidVoid
Summary: The story of a hero.
1. The Faded Dream

"Come on, _! Get up!" she curled her toes as her sheet was pulled from her. "What's so important?" she groaned, pressing her lazy eyes, which were not yet adjusted to the sudden light. "We just received a letter!" there was an unusual amount of excitement in the warmth of his voice. "Really, now? Who's it from?" "It's from Aaroniero!" She sat up quickly upon recognizing the familiarity in the name mentioned.

"You mean the scientist?"

"Yes, the very same one!"

Her eyes widened,

"What does it read?"

"I don't know, I was waiting for you to wake up before I started reading it,"

"Well, I'm awake now, let's see it,"

She crawled from the bed on the floor and sat down next to the boy to read the letter.

Dearest friends,  
How has life treated you? As you know, I am currently off traveling to find a way to grant conjoined twins easier lives. The folks here believe me crazy for believing such a thing possible or even existence of such type of birth defect. They are obviously ignorant to the type of people who exist amongst them. My time away is becoming very unexpectedly extended. Nevertheless, as you know, I am a man of great determination, and I refuse to let such things interfere with my main priority.

I've been to countless places of great awe on my journey. I am aware you would like to be given knowledge of these places, due to the fact you have never had the privilege of leaving _, but I am sad to say I have not the time to write all about the places I have been at this time. I am far too busy with my work. But you have been wonderful friends to me, despite my "disadvantage" and have been there for my encouragement and support since the day I met you. For that, I am in endless debt to you, and your compensation will be grand. But in the meantime, I require your patience. How I wish you could be here experiencing all of this with me. I beg forgiveness for my insolence of asking this, but would you be as kind as to send me that box I have asked you to take care of in my absence? I am currently in Oakvale. (Need not I give an exact location; my apparent madness has made me well known in the places I have been.) I will remain here until I receive the package or only your reply with a statement that you cannot do this for me. If it is the last case, It is perfectly understandable, I am well aware of your living conditions. I would send gold but I find the packaging men untrustworthy. (That is what you get for reading messages that are not addressed towards you, nosy scum.) Be well dear children, I await your reply.

Yours Truly,

Aaroniero Arruruerie

Before she would even finish reading, he had sprung to his feet and started rummaging through their few belongings. After a short period he had uncovered a small, worn, silver box with birds carved on the exterior, " I remember when he left this to us. Makes me wonder why he did so, If it's so precious to him." _ rose to her feet and began walking towards the exit of their small living area . "Hey! Where are you going?" "We made just enough money this week to keep us alive. The fee for delivering a package is 5 gold pieces, meaning we need to go out and earn 5 _**more**_ gold pieces than we already have," " Oh, right…" he smiled at his folly and exited into the cold after herself.

The exact happenings outside of the small room are too faint to piece into an understandable story.

The following scene happened around midnight afterwards. The package has successfully been sent off for delivery.

"Robin!" the name sputtered out of her throat as if it had been expelled by a great force, causing it to ache suddenly. Her mouth went dry and a chill crept up her spine. The sound of a man's voice was heard, but was not understandable as for it being drowned by a strong ringing, and there is a flash of light. A sharp, icy sting strikes her head first.


	2. Given Decision

"_Ouvre les yeux…_" echoed a voice

Slowly the eyelid peeled back. Colors, smeared against each other in an obscured tunnel, danced before their beholder.

"Ah, you're awake," called the same voice, over the mind numbing tinnitus.

Slowly the surroundings took recognizable forms, although remaining tinted in a shade of red. A comforting tavern, not far above sight leaned a man with silvery hair, smiling down to his watcher. Attention was soon directed completely toward him, being he was the most interesting thing in the room.

"It's nice to finally have you back," he smiled, "You've been out cold for a long while. Here," he stretched his arm out of view, returning it with a dropper. This was held above and used to drip a warm fluid into the viewing eye, causing the world around to appear slurred again. After a few seconds it had cleared, disappearing with the redness. "Sorry about that," said he, "You where a bit glazed."

Nothing was said from the beholder, who had, by instinct, raised a hand when the dropper approached, and now stood admiring the five fingered palms that hovered before it. Along with the fragile arms connected to them.

The man sucked his teeth in disappointment. "I guess not," he turned his head towards the far corner of the room, "Tousen, you did make sure to fix her English comprehension, didn't you?" he said in a concerned voice. The other person, Tousen, as was referred to, answered in a gruffly. "Yes, she understands you. That does not mean she knows how to respond to you, though."

"Ah, how silly I am." The silver haired man redirected his attention toward her, smile returning. "It seems you don't remember a thing, my dear little bird. We will have to refresh your memory, won't we?" "First things first, Gin." "Of course, up now, little bird." He firmly but tenderly gripped her arm and pulled her into a sitting position on the bed. The new height made her head throb, she grimaced. "Patience, I know it hurts. The pain will subside once your body gets used to being upright again." He held her shoulder briefly to keep her from collapsing back to the bed and set a square mirror in her lap. She reached out hesitantly and held the side of it with a trembling hand. When it tilted down, a young girl of about 10 was reflected. The skin on her exposed collar and face appeared bloodless and sick. Long, ink like hair draped over her shoulders and onto her face in a confused mess. Under the unkempt bangs sat a somber eye, its partner was covered by a make-shift eye patch made of bandages. Raw, stitched wounds where on some parts of her face and the rest of the skin visible under a thin frock.

"A shame, isn't it? How could anyone be so cruel?" He stroked her hair. "_Blackbird_," came the gruff voice again. This time, he approached the bed she sat in. Standing side by side, Gin and Tousen, as they called themselves, where a strange pair. Gin light skin and with silvery short hair, bearing a kind, smiling face. His eyes always remaining shut, a light colored robe covering his figure. And Tousen, Dark skinned with shoulder-length ebon hair. Eyes covered by a white fabric tied around his head, attired in a long, hooded, ashen robe. Had she her past knowledge, she would have recognized him as gypsy-born.

Both of which were in the same room, looking down on an amnesic, injured child.

"That is your name, 'Blackbird'," said Tousen. "We have saved you from a near death and will nurture you back to health. You owe us nothing. But, before we let you go, you will have a choice." He leaned closer to her, past the other man. "You have no home to return to, but you can be taken back to your home town, or you can stay here with us. We will train you to become a warrior. It is not important that you know the purpose, as we cannot tell anyone who is not involved. From this moment until you recuperate, you have time to consider your answer. But choose carefully, because whichever you pick, you can never take back." With that, the two men left the chamber.


	3. The Hero is Unveiled

The road to recuperation was long and rough, but in the end she got there. Of course, she didn't regain all of her former knowledge and memories, but it was better than nothing.

Thus the day had arrived.

She sat in what had been her bed for almost a month, when a rapping came at the door. "Are you awake, Birdie?" came the peaceful voice that had become so familiar to her. She sprung down to the floor and slipped on her shoes. She knew well today was the day.

She opened the door to find Gin with his usual smile, raising his hand to knock. "Oh, there you are, Little Bird. Tousen is waiting for you." Blackbird, as she had become used to being called, bit her lip in distress. Yes, she had thought her choices over whenever her aching body gave her the opportunity; however, it was still too grand of a decision to be able to decide on possessing only the limited knowledge of someone of ten and one years. There was much to consider, that she understood clearly.

Gin lead her down the corridor, his fingertips rested tenderly upon her shoulder. For reassurance, she thought. She hadn't been out of her room her whole stay, the walls outside of it seemed oddly airtight, yet intimidating to her. The shadows loomed overhead, obscuring the ceiling and sections of the walls, which reflected the small amount of lights from vase-like lamps attached to them in an odd form. At the end of the walk they found Tousen standing in front of a large wooden door.

After an uncomfortable silence, Gin decided upon announcing to the blind man, "Tousen, Blackbird now stands before you." "I am aware," He replied bitterly before another irritating silence. "I guess you're waiting for an answer," said the girl, with a childish, yet concealed voice. The gypsy man nodded. Her stomach churned as she began considering the choices once again. Soon she was deep enough in thought that the world seemed to have disappeared around her as words and images of possibilities swiveled around in the eye of her mind.

"Birdie!" called the voice which snapped her out of the trance. Gin held his hand to his chin in concern, as opposed to Tousen, who simply stared straight ahead. "Your troubles aren't my problem," was what he seemed to say. "Tousen, this isn't going to work," he frowned. "Well, I suppose we can always—"

"No." She interrupted loudly, then caught herself and said in her normal tone "I'm sorry, but whatever it is, you won't need to do it. I made up my mind."

"Oh?" Gin lifted his eyebrows in surprise, never opening those eyes. "Well then," he smiled, "Let's hear it." She spilled her choices through her mind again, then sucked in a plumping breath.

"I want to stay here with you." The blind man nodded, seemingly, in a praiseful manner.

-"You have made a wise choice, but would you not like to learn more of your lost memories?"

-"Whatever I need to remember…I'm sure I can find it here. Besides, I don't have anywhere to go."

-"You have proven to me that you are ready for the challenges that lie ahead of you in your journey."

She smiled at this, knowing she can't see it, and not quite understanding what he meant. As he turned to face the door she thought would have led to her freedom, as if by magic, the locks clicked and rattled from the other side. The door creaked open before them.

The room on the other side was plain, yet marvelous. The ceiling curved high above them, giving a dome-like appearance, ended all the way down to the floor. In the center of the room squatted a make-shift table, with what seemed to be…what was the word for it? Everything looked to be made out of the ground itself, the room harboring earthy smells that tickled her nose. Once they were near the table, three stone chairs rose from the floor. After they had all sat down, the dome ceiling appeared to dissolve, opening to blackness above. The floor started to _raise_ them up into it at a horrifying speed, but stopped just in time before a stone-patterned ceiling, which the floor imitated in appearance soon after.

The two men stood, and then Gin nudged her gently to her feet, (Perhaps he had taken the quo from the sudden greenness of her face.) and ushered her to the table. "Behold Birdie, the map of the great land of Albion."

_A map, that's what it's called._

She stared in amazement into the bowl shape in the table, onto the perfect interpretation of forests and towns down in it. "Blackbird, I will need to mention that your decision was wise for Albion, but I am afraid you will have to pay with your own blood."

Blackbird stared at him, frozen. The other man leaned down to whisper in her ear, "He doesn't mean literally," this calmed her, a little.

"Blackbird, for when you succeed, the name shall be spoken by all. Blackbird, because you will be great. Blackbird, for evil doers small and large will cower before the very name. Blackbird, for the name will be rejoiced amongst the rich and the poor alike. Blackbird, because you are our hero."


	4. Truth

Her mouth gaped, and her mind seemed to be laughing at the itself.

_A hero?_

Tousen stood with his arms wide open still after finishing his speech, while Gin twiddled his thumbs, amusedly looking down at the so-called hero. She looked at him, and returned her gaze to Tousen. "This…can't be right," she grimaced, trying to force down the idea. "You've got to be pulling my leg…there's no way –"

"Oh, but it's true," Gin stroked her hair dearly, the other man lowered his arms. "You're a hero, just like in the…stories!" Blackbird thought about this a moment. She pictured herself in shining armor, perched on a tall mountain looking down on the world with the wind blowing through her hair. A large sword rested in the hand of the more gallant version of herself. The vision made the pride swell in her chest; yet, she could not help returning to her more humble self image.

"There has to be a mistake…"

"Oh, but Birdie, I— Well, Tousen— saw it with his own eyes…wait, that still doesn't sound…" Tousen held his palm toward the the former speaker, signaling him to silence.

"It seems we have forgotten to explain who we are," Blackbird raised an eyebrow in confusion; her head swam once more. "My name is Tousen Kaname. I am the son of the great blind seer Teresa, who trained many very successful heroes in her time. Time amongst mortals has for her, though, expired. I have been left in her place to prepare my own share of heroes for their destiny. I am, too, a blind seer. I cannot see the future of a hero, for they choose that for themselves, but I can see when a hero is to be , and where," he paused.

"I can choose my own destiny…? But I thought things just…"

"Heroes can turn to either the side of good, or that of evil," he interrupted. "I saw when you when born, and we have been observing you closely ever since, waiting for your time to come," his face turned in Gin's direction, hinting him to begin talking.

Gin licked his lips, "I'm the guild master. I've almost the same as Tousen's job, 'cept the fact that I can see into people's minds, instead of the future," this statement caused a look of worry to appear on the girl's face. A reaction which he noticed, "Birdie, did you have a strange dream before we first met?"

Blackbird crumpled her lips and creased her brow, probing her few memories. "I think," She began, "I was in this little wagon-like house…reading a letter with a boy, I don't know who he was. He looked about my age. Then we said some things, and went outside. It was really cold, I remember that very clearly. Then there was a big mess of things, I can't remember 'em all. Then I heard a man say something, couldn't make out what it wash though. I heard a loud '_BANG_!' before a '_CRASH!'_ And my head started to hurt…"

Gin made her sit in one of the chairs with a gesture. "Was there anything else?"

She looked at her lap, where her hands were now seeking comfort in each other. "Well, I think I said something."

"What do you think you said?"

Her head hurt even more now, "'Robin'…"

He frowned sympathetically and stroked the top of her head. "Robin was your brother's name. That boy you saw, he was your brother."

_It was not a dream, but a memory. The only one she had of her past life._

Without turning her head, she flipped her eyes toward his face to study his expression. "My brother, Robin…He's dead. Isn't he?" Gin nodded gravely, kneeling down next to her.

"Yes," His voice was a whisper.

Large, hot tears came streaming down her face, burning her damaged eye and making her head pound all the more. Soon enough she was bawling violently, Gin pressing her against himself. He waited quietly until his own heart sank imagining her pain. "There… there, Birdie. Go ahead and cry hard for me, let it all out. But let me tell you, don't you know Robin died for a good cause?"

The name itself seemed to stab at her. Tousen stood to the side of them, listening to wails of misery. Gin nudged her ear with his nose, as if he were to whisper the secrets of the world to her in this awful moment of grievance. "Had he not died, it would've been you instead. You who are the hero, she who can save Albion from the devils who've vomited upon it. He died because he wanted you to live, see: when the first bullet was shot, the one more carefully aimed, more powerful, he shielded you with his own body. Then you where shot with the poorer, second bullet; which damaged you badly, yet you've survived it. A bullet to the head Birdie, that's not very common. 'course, we helped, but there had to be more to it. Your brother's with you, he's watching over you," She her sobs lowered down to sniffles. she turned her attention toward his face again, now that he held her close, like a mother to her child. His broad smile returned, encouraging her to smile back. "Show him how brave you are,"

"I won't let my brother die in vain," she announced, standing, drying her face with her sleeve. She looked at the seer determinedly, "Great Seer, I promise I'll become the best warrior you've ever seen," she pounded her chest with her fist mightily; "I want to be the best fighter, the smartest, the kindest. I will save Albion from the evils that pollute it. I'll slaughter mercilessly, if that's what it takes to complete my mission."

He started toward her, expressionless, Then dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder, and for the first time, his lips stretched into a large, proud smile. "Your words are still childish, but very powerful, at the same time."

She grinned, "Master Gin, I'd also like to know, 'cause if you can see into my memory, you probably know by now. You can probably see things there clearer then I do, too. I'd like to know, who was the man speaking in the memory?"

Gin ran his fingers through his hair. "I know who he is, but I can't tell you 'till the time comes,"

"So be it."


End file.
